A group of research organizations from 13 European countries have joined forces to develop a high-speed test that could dramatically reduce the time needed to detect viruses and bacteria in drinking water.

Every year, two million tons of sewage and industrial and agricultural waste make their way into global waterways and the resulting contamination kills at least 1.8 million children, according to the United Nations Environment Program.

In an attempt to deal with the severe drought it has been experiencing, California is turning to desalination projects and is allocating millions of dollars to develop technologies that can turn ocean water into potable water.